Kathryn Bigelow‘s explosive new drama, Detroit, will be a challenging film for audiences when it opens in theaters on August 4. Set during the race riots that roiled the titular city in 1967, the movie telescopes in to focus on an infamous police investigation at the Algiers Motel, the exact details of which were cloudy on the judicial record, but ended with three young black men dead, and seven young black men and two white women badly roughed up. Bigelow and her frequent collaborator, screenwriter Mark Boal, clearly knew they were going to put viewers through the emotional wringer, and that required assembling a top-notch cast of actors. “On our set, the brotherhood was very, very strong,” Jacob Latimore says in a new featurette. “Everybody wanted to bring their A-game.” (Watch the full video above.)

“I was determined to cast the most extraordinary talent out there,” remarks Bigelow in the clip. She famously helped elevate Jeremy Renner to stardom by casting him in her Best Picture winner, The Hurt Locker. Detroit‘s cast is notably absent of major stars, apart from Star Warsfan favorite John Boyega, who plays a black security guard who witnesses the disturbing, racially charged incidents at the Algiers. “To play a real person definitely comes with pressure,” the British actor says in the featurette. “I was really amazed by the performances we have in this.” Prepare to be amazed, and shaken, when the film debuts later this summer.